VIII 



THE WEASEL 



My most interesting note of the season of 

 1893 relates to a weasel. One day in early No- 

 vember, my boy and I were sitting on a rock at 

 the edge of a tamarack swamp in the woods, hop- 

 ing to get a glimpse of some grouse which we 

 knew were in the habit of feeding in the swamp. 

 We had not sat there very long before we heard 

 a slight rustling in the leaves below us, which we 

 at once fancied was made by the cautious tread 

 of a grouse. (We had no gun.) Presently, 

 through the thick brushy growth, we caught 

 sight of a small animal running along, that we 

 at first took for a red squirrel. A moment more, 

 and it came into full view but a few yards from 

 us, and we saw that it was a weasel. A second 

 glance showed that it carried something in its 

 mouth which, as it drew near, we saw was a 

 mouse or a mole of some sort. The weasel ran 

 nimbly along, now the length of a decayed log, 

 then over stones and branches, pausing a mo- 

 ment every three or four yards, and passed 



